Chapter 3: Society and Culture In Provincial America (65-96)

Introduction
Diverging Societies

People believed the colonies = outposts of the British world Colonists adopted British tastes, styles, customs Colonies diverged from England due to physical environment Population was more diverse - European, Africans, native Indians Societies were shaped by their own regions

The Colonial Population

Immigration and Natural Increase

After colonization, non-native population increases Population grows rapidly through immigration and natural increase Late 17th century: Europeans + Africans = dominant groups along coast Few settlers were upper class, most were unaristocratic Middle class, business men, and mostly English laborers of immigrants to Chesapeake are indentured servants

Indentured Servitude
Origins

(a)

Men and women promised to work for free passage to the New World Supposed to receive benefits after service did not happen Indentures servants were sometimes convicts dumped by the govt Indenture system helps cope with labor shortage in the New World

Realities of Indentured Servitude

Some former indentures become farmers, trades people, artisans Others: landless, unemployed, without family Created potential social unrest Many families moved every several years Indentured servitude declines in 1670s Landowners in Chesapeake give up, turn to African slaves

Birth and Death

New arrivals anticipated great hardship and early death at first Conditions improve gradually million people by end of 17th century
Exceptional Longevity in New England

2nd half of 17th century: marked improvement in reproduction rate Life spans were exceptionally long Men in New England lived to 71, women to 70 much higher than England South: low birth rates, short life spans Death rate slows after people develop immunity to disease

More Balanced Sex Ratios

Steady improvement in sex ratio increases population Early settlements were 75% male Gradually women arrive, birth rates produce equal ratios Late 17th century: proportion of M to F become balanced

Medicine in the Colonies

Medical knowledge is primitive high death rate of women bearing children Many die from infections during childbirth, dirty surgical instruments
Midwives

Entering medical field was easy Many women become midwives (popular) - male doctors feel threatened Medicine based on humoralism by Roman physician Galen 4 humors - yellow and black bile, blood, phlegm: illness = imbalance of humors Male doctors prefer bleeding, midwives prefer pukes and laxatives Medical ideas from1400 years ago - little support for scientific method Testing scientific assumptions not yet part of Western thought

Women and Families in the Chesapeake

Male Authority Undermined

High need for reproduction = few women remain unmarried Chesapeake area: high mortality rate affects women

Traditional male-centered family is hard to maintain Standards more flexible in South many women pregnant before marriage Women are consumed with childbirth usually die in process

Greater Independence in the South

Chesapeake women have more freedom many choices for husbands Many widows left with children and land economic power Most widows remarried: women =peacemakers of big families A lot of orphans special courts created to protect them

Revival of Patriarchy

Early 18th century: Chesapeake population changes Higher life expectancy, less indentured servants, more reproduction Life becomes less perilous and hard Women lose power as families become more stable Mid 18th century: families become patriarchal dominated by male

Women and Families in New England

Family structure much more stable in New England than Chesapeake Sex ratio balanced, men could expect to marry
Male-Dominated New England

Women remain in minority - married young, had children early Northern children more likely to survive, families intact Women were less independent less control over marriage N.E. parents lived longer - more control over children + marriages

The Patriarchal Puritan Family

Puritan church powerful in New England mostly ruled by men High value placed on family Puritan women played role of wife and mother Male authority women expected to be modest, submissive Women = important to agriculture Bore children to work on farms, gardened, raised animals, spinning/weaving

The Beginnings of Slavery in British America

Black slaves supplemented scarce southern labor supply Portuguese slavers dominate slave trade since 16th century Dutch and French join slave trade, commerce in slaves grows in America

The Middle Passage

Forced immigration of 11 million Africans to the Americas African tribes captured people in enemy tribes to sell on African coast Victims packed into dark filthy holds of ships to America - the Middle Passage Minimal food and water, sexual abuse, hard to breathe Most slaves went to Caribbean islands and Brazil, not N. America 1670s: traders start importing directly to N. America Royal African Company maintains monopoly, high prices

Growing Slave Population

Mid-1690s turning point: Royal African Company breaks monopoly Prices for slaves fell, more Africans arrived in N. America African population in the colonies increases dramatically High death rates from rice cultivation 1700-1760 African Population increases 10x mostly in south

Uncertain Status

South: difficult for Europeans and Africans to maintain separate roles Blacks and whites worked together, treated alike Early 18th century rigid distinction emerges Masters obliged to release white servants, black slaves were permanent Whites felt superior to African slaves (just like they did to Indians

Slave Codes

Colonial assemblies pass slave codes, limiting black rights Whites = absolute authority over other races Did not recognize mixed races, mixed race = black

Changing Sources of European Immigration

Early 18th century: immigrants from England decline, other countries increase Increase in French, German, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Scandinavians
Huguenots and Pennsylvania Dutch

French Calvinists = Huguenots, state by Edict of Nantes of 1598 1685: French revokes edict, Huguenots begin moving to English colonies German Protestants suffer at home, move to England, eventually move to America Germans welcome in Pennsylvania (Quakers) and N. Carolina after New Bern (1710)

Scotch-Irish

Scottish Presbyterians from northern Ireland (Ulster) Parliament prohibits Ulster from exporting to England, outlaws Presbyterianism Scotch Irish tenants go to America coldly received Occupied land w/o regard for its owners Scottish Highlanders and Presbyterian Lowlanders also move to America 1775: non Indian population = over 2 million

The Colonial Economies

Rapid Population Growth

Colonies seem isolated actually crucially tied to other economies Trade with natives, French, Spanish, growing Atlantic economy Farming dominates European and African settlements for market

The Southern Economy

Tobacco

Tobacco planters grow extremely wealthy Production exceeds demand, prices drop - 1640 Staple of economy = rice production Low coastline, tidal rivers = good place for rice paddies Depended of slaves difficult tasks, unhealthful (malaria) Africans are more adept in harsh weather/conditions

Indigo

Eliza Lucas, Antiguan woman introduces Indigo plant in SC Grows on SC high ground that was unsuitable for rice Dependence on cash crops = less commercial/industrial economy Few cities developed in the south, no merchant communities

Northern Economic and Technological Life

More Diverse Agriculture in the North

Farming conditions less favorable in the North North New England = hard, rocky soil, Southern New England = more fertile Colonists engage in home industry, others become craftsmen and artisans

Saugus Ironworks

1st metals industry, started 1640s in Saugus, Massachusetts Used water power to control heat in furnace to remove oxygen from ore Saugus works = technological success , financial failure (closes 1668) Largest industrial enterprise = ironmaster Peter Hasenclever, northern NJ English parliament passes Iron Act of 1750, restricted metal processing in colonies

Extractive Industries

Fur trade in decline in mid 17th century Industries exploit the natural resources of the continent Lumbering mining, fishing provide commodities to export to England Produces thriving commercial class

The Extent and Limits of Technology

Colonial society lacked basic technological capacities No pots, kettles; few wagons; only half of households own guns/rifles People were too poor or too isolated
Myth of Self-Sufficiency

Few colonists were self-sufficient

Popular image = families grew own food and made own clothes Truth most people purchased what the needed People had few tools and not a lot of access to advanced technologies

The Rise of Colonial Commerce

Shortage of Currency

American merchants face great obstacles No accepted medium of money, tobacco certificates not accepted abroad Merchants rely on barter system Impossible to impose order on trade, few channels of information at ports

Triangular Trade

Elaborate coastal trades w/ West Indies Indies get rum, agricultural products, meat, fish Colonies get sugar, molasses, slaves Transatlantic trade links N. America w/ Europe and coast of Africa New England (rum and goods) Africa (slaves) Indies (sugar and molasses)

Emerging Merchant Class

Group of new adventurous entrepreneurs merchant class Concentrated in port cities of the north, protected from foreign competition Many colonial products already available in England needs foreign markets Merchants ignore trade laws, and developed trade w/ French, Spanish, Dutch Colonial commercial system stabilizes, merchants make extensive contacts

Rise of Consumerism

Growing preoccupation with material goods Possession connected to social status

Growing Consumerism

Division of Americans by class become more apparent

Upper class shows their place by buying and displaying goods England and Europe making advances and producing more Result: affluent Americans buy more Merchants/traders begin advertising in media to attract the wealthy

Social Consequences

Luxuries slowly become necessities: tea, linen, glassware, cutlery, furniture, etc. Material goods associated with virtue People tried to be gentlemanly or ladylike Development of witty and educated conversationalists 18th century cities public squares, parks, boulevards, wider social society

Patterns of Society
Social Mobility

No deep class system in America like in England Landowners a lot of power in England, not in colonies Imbalance between land and population Landowners less secure and powerful in America Room for social mobility in the colonies, structure different from the British model

The Plantation
(b)

Plantations emerged from Virginia and Maryland Tobacco = basis of the Chesapeake agriculture Most estates were rough and small, few were enormous (Charles Carroll) Plantations were like small self-contained communities Planters were constantly at risk of failure Slave work force altered/interfered with family lives
Stratified Southern Society

Wealthy landowners have lots of control and influence Small farmers depend on wealthy farmers for market Most landowners lived in cabins no aristocratic splendor

Plantation Slavery

Small farms: no rigid social separation w/ slaves and whites Larger establishments: Africans developed own society and culture Africans develop family structures/households (constantly in jeopardy)
Slave Culture

Africans develop own language (SC Gullah) New religion blends Christianity with African folklore African house servants more luxury, but isolated from community Black women subject to unwanted sexual advances and children Some slaves received kindness, others received brutality

Stono Rebellion

1739, South Carolina: 100 Africans seized weapons and killed whites Whites crush uprising and execute participants Some ran away nowhere to go Most slaves worked field Some slaves learned trades and crafts small free black population

The Puritan Community

Patterns of Settlement

Towns = characteristic social unit of New England Settlements made covenants Covenant = a social and religious commitment to unity and harmony Mostly consisted of people who met after arriving in America Villages: houses and meetinghouse arranged around central pasture Outlying fields divided to families depending on wealth/social status

Puritan Democracy

Yearly town meeting selects group of selectmen Elected men rule until next meeting Only male members could participate Membership in the church was most crucial social distinction Fathers divide up lands among ALL sons Daughters did not inherit land - more mobile than sons

Population Pressure

Rigid patriarchal structure Limited opportunity for young people Population goes up residents cultivate farther away from community Some eventually applied to create new towns Fights between townspeople and people who wanted to break away

Generational Conflict

After several generations, divided land was too little to go around Younger people began moving elsewhere Economic necessity undermined patriarchal model Fathers relationships w/ family were more contractual than dictatorial

The Witchcraft Phenomenon

Expectation = unified community, reality = diverse and fluid community 1680-90s: tensions produce hysteria over supposed witchcraft

Salem Witch Trials

Salem, Massachusetts girls accuse West Indian servants of witchcraft Hysteria spreads, hundreds of people are accused 19 Salem residents put to death under trial until 1692 Most accused were middle aged abrasive women w/ few children Some independent property-owning women also accused Reflection of highly religious character, tension over gender roles

Cities
Growth of Colonial Cities

Cities in the colonies were small compared to today Two largest ports: Philadelphia and NY; also: Boston, Charleston, and Newport Cities = trading centers led by estate-owning merchants Disparities of wealth and social status more apparent

Commercial and Cultural Importance

Centers of industry, most advanced schools and social cultures Urban social problems (crime, pollution, traffic, etc.) required elaborate government More vulnerable to trade fluctuations Places for new ideas and discussions, more publications available New intellectual influences

Awakenings and Enlightenments

Traditional outlook of 16th-17th centuries VS. importance of science and
human reason

People have control over their own lives, can make their own decisions There is a rational/scientific explanation for everything Intellectual climate shapes colonial America
The Pattern of Religions
Roots of Religious Toleration

Conditions in America required religious toleration Except in VA and MD, official religions were ignored

Many sects develop from main religions Puritans sect into Congregationalism and Presbyterianism Calvinists break off into American Baptists

Anti-Catholicism

Protestants hated/feared the Pope; did not tolerate Catholics New Englanders view Catholics in Canada as dangerous agents of Rome Too few Catholics = no serious conflicts Jews in America (mostly in NYC) < 2,000 - almost no rights

Jeremiads

1700s: some Americans troubled by decline in piety Jeremiads: sermons of despair noting signs of waning piety Ministers preach Jeremiads excessively Puritan faith remains remarkably strong Declension of religious piety = serious problem for New Englanders

The Great Awakening

Colonists everywhere realize that religious piety is on decline Great Awakening began in 1730s, climaxes in 1740s: new spirit of religious fervor Appealed to women and 3rd/4th generation sons who wanted to break away 1730s: John/Charles Wesley and George Whitefield help spread revival
Old Lights and New Lights

Existing congregations VS. revivalists founding new ones Some revivalists denounced books Others saw education as a way to further religion founded schools

The Enlightenment

18th century: Enlightenment - opposite from the Awakening People celebrated power of human reason and Scientific Discovery Humans have moral sense do not need a God
Traditional Authority Challenged

Enlightenment encourages people to think for themselves, not look to God Heightened interest in politics and government Ideas challenge notion that all answers can only come from God Early ideas were borrowed from abroad Francis Bacon, John Locke American contributions later Franklin, Paine, Jefferson, Madison

Education

Before Enlightenment, education was important but hard to get 1647 MA law establishes a modest network of educational establishments Many attempts to establish schools in the colonies
High White Literacy Rates

White males achieve high degree of literacy Over half of American white men could read/write, women lagged behind Created market for almanacs Africans and Indians remained outside the education system Some American colleges/universities intermingled religion and Enlightenment Schools like Harvard, William and Mary College scientific approach to knowledge Response conservative schools like Yale and Princeton

Liberal Curricula

Curricula: logic, ethics, physics, geometry, astronomy, rhetoric, languages Harvard tried to provide education, advance learning for posterity Kings College (Columbia) also devoted to secular knowledge University of Pennsylvania 1755, inspired by Ben Franklin UPenn becomes site of first med school in 1765

The Spread of Science

America shows increasing interest in scientific knowledge Most rigorous promotion of science through private scientific societies Royal Society of London most celebrated amateur scientific society 1752: Ben Franklins electricity=lightening discovery

Smallpox Inoculation

Smallpox inoculation shows high value of Americans placed on knowledge Puritan Cotton Mather deliberate infection of smallpox immunity Mather conducts experiments on Bostonians in 1720s Proves effective gains support of many scientists Mid 1700s inoculation becomes a common medical practice

Concepts of Law and Politics

Changes in American law result from scarcity of lawyers England tries to impose common law onto Americans, but its too late American legal system has significant differences Procedures were simpler, no executions, crimes are redefined
Colonial Governments

Americans create their own institutions of self-government People get used to running their own affairs Strict colonial assemblies exercised many powers of the Parliament Crown-appointed provincial governors had limited influence Governors were unfamiliar with colonies, could be fired anytime Provincial governments acted independently of Parliament Problems begin when England tries to tighten their hold (1763)